There are a few things to consider before adding your clinical appointments to your calendar. Taking these points into account supports your well-being, prioritizes your safety, and ensures you achieve the most balanced, beautiful aesthetic results.
1. Check your vitamins and supplements
Make sure to carefully review your vitamins and supplements ahead of your visit. Many people know to avoid aspirin and NSAIDs like ibuprofen, but did you know you should check your daily multivitamin too?
To decrease the chance of temporary bruising, try to pause blood-thinning ingredients for about a week prior. Common culprits include:
St. John’s wort and high-dose vitamin A
Fish oil, krill oil, flaxseed oil, and omega-3s
Ginseng, garlic supplements, and glucosamine
(Always verify with your primary care provider before stopping any prescribed daily medications.)
2. Plan your schedule and social downtime
Aside from delivering fantastic results, what makes modern wrinkle-relaxing and dermal treatments so convenient is how little downtime they require. While you might experience mild swelling or tenderness, you can typically head right back to work or carry on with your day.
However, with treatments like facial PRP or deep skin hydration, you'll want to plan for a little extra breathing room. If you have a milestone event coming up like a wedding or photoshoot, it’s best to schedule your treatments a few weeks ahead so everything settles seamlessly.
3. Take a quick break from intense exercise
Plan to wait about 24 hours after your appointment before hitting the gym or your favorite spin class.
Taking a rest day gives your treatment time to settle undisturbed into the targeted area. Strenuous workouts raise your blood pressure and heart rate, which can increase swelling or worsen mild bruising at the placement sites. This rest window also applies to hot yoga, saunas, steam rooms, and facial massages.
4. Skip the wine the night before
Although a night out is always fun, try to enjoy happy hour well in advance.
Alcohol dilates blood vessels, causing them to expand closer to the skin’s surface, which can make you more prone to bruising. Skip the wine the evening before your appointment, drink plenty of water, and get a great night of sleep while dreaming about your refreshed, glowing skin.
5. Take a "before" selfie
Don’t be shy—snap a quick baseline photo on your phone before heading into the clinic.
Try taking a few neutral photos, plus a few while smiling, raising your brows, and making natural expressions. Because results develop gradually and look so natural, we often forget what our baseline movement or subtle asymmetries looked like before. Having a comparison photo makes tracking your subtle transformation so much fun.
6. Know your goals, but stay open-minded
Have an idea of what you’d like to refresh, but keep an open mind to your clinician's recommendations.
Your relationship with your clinician is a true collaboration: we want to know what you love and will guide you on the safest, most effective way to get there. Our experienced PHI clinicians understand facial anatomy and how different areas balance one another. Often, softening a line around the mouth is best achieved by subtly supporting the cheek area, or a static line may benefit more from dermal hydration than a muscle relaxer. Bring your goals, and let's map out the ideal custom plan together.
7. A little cool compress goes a long way
Following dermal filler appointments, applying a clean, gentle cold compress for a few minutes helps constrict local blood vessels. It’s an easy, soothing step that keeps minor swelling and tenderness to an absolute minimum.